Definition

One must make a distinction however: when dragged into prominence by half poets, the result is not poetry, nor till the autocrats among us can be “literalists of the imagination”—above insolence and triviality and can present for inspection, imaginary gardens with real toads in them, shall we have it.

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Saturday, December 21, 2013

When I Write Tanka (Part 1) ~ Hisashi Nakamura

For the past few months, Dr Hisashi Nakamura has been sharing his "Thoughts on Tanka" with the poets of The Imaginary Garden. Follow these links to Part 1, Part 2 and Part 3. In this and next months feature, Dr Nakamura will shares his insights into writing tanka successfully in English.

1 31 English Syllables

I use 31 English syllables when I write tanka knowing that the great majority of people writing tanka in the world are against the idea of keeping the Japanese form when writing in English.
I do not try to argue over the number of syllables to be used or that there should be any specific form for writing tanka in English. I simply stick to two points. Firstly, I think poetry requires discipline. Secondly, the 31 syllables divided into the units of 5/7/5/7/7 can create a poem whether or not it is an “English tanka”!

2 The Perspective of the Classical Tanka Realm

After studying several thousands of classical tanka and struggling to translate some of them into English, I unconsciously see things around me from the perspective of the classical tanka realm. Wherever I go - the Yorkshire moors, the northeast coast, declined industrial cities and ports, London, Paris, Amsterdam, Elsinore or Prague - I am in the shadow of the aesthetic of classical tanka.
As I cannot escape from this shadow I tend to frame what I see from the perspective of the classics.

The September sun Hidden in the milky dawn Now shows a pale disc. A huddle of sheep shadows Looms out of the pearly mist.

3 Nature and Real Experience

I write tanka when I am moved by something while I am rambling in the countryside. I do not try to compose new tanka at home although I may spend some time to revise the original composition.

The silent forest Is whitened in the spring dusk By the passing rain. Sifted through the fresh needles Breezes pass through the larch trees.

4 Upper Poem and Lower Poem

A tanka usually consists of an upper poem and a lower poem which interact to create suggestiveness. The interaction of the upper and the lower in the following should create not only two images about a skylark and a lamb but also a feeling of ungrounded fear about my own existence in a peaceful environment.

Over the June moors A skylark is sucked into The wide timeless sky. From the edge of blue stillness, The faint bleating of a lamb.

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